


Moonstruck

by notjustmom



Series: Words, Words, Words [333]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Established Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-07 00:59:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16398410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: moonstruck: adjective: moon-struhk: dreamily romantic or bemused; mentally deranged, supposedly by the influence of the moon; crazedThe original sense of moonstruck, “mentally deranged, insane,” first appears in Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton (1608–74). Milton was astonishingly learned: he wrote poetry in Latin, Greek, and Italian; he translated Psalm 114 from Hebrew into Greek verse; he was a polemicist (or propagandist) for the English general, Puritan statesman, and Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Moonstruck is probably Milton’s own creation, a translation from Greek selēnóblētos “moonstruck, epileptic,” a compound of selḗnē “moon” and blētós “stricken, stricken with palsy,” a past participle of bállein ”to throw, hit (with a missile).” The sense of “dreamily romantic” dates from the mid-19th century.





	Moonstruck

On the day of their first case, there was a full moon, so he could, if he happened to be a fanciful man, which he most certainly was not, if he needed to explain his reaction, or over-reaction to John Watson, he could claim he had been moonstruck.

People were necessary, yes, of course they were, in order for him to do The Work. He needed their drama, their passions - love and hatred in equal measure, otherwise, he'd have very little to do with a mind that rarely stopped working. But there were people, and then there was John Watson. 

If you asked him, and he were of a mind to tell you what precisely made John Watson different from the billions of people in the world, or at least from the hundreds he'd laid eyes on, he'd probably sit and think for several minutes, perhaps pick up his violin and pluck at it for a while, then eventually purse his lips and shrug, and mumble mostly to himself, "he's unique. From the moment I met him, I found I breathed easier. I didn't have to pretend to listen to him, because I wanted to hear every word he said. And he actually listened to me. Not just because I had an answer to a question, or held the solution to a puzzle, but because he found me interesting, as a person. That had never happened to me before. And yes, he is good company on a case, has a way of seeing the world, that helps me - not quite 'everyman', because he's not - he's, as I said, unique." 

He'd nod and mutter a bit more to himself, and turn his attention to the violin in his hands, and look up minutes later, surprised to find someone still sitting in the client's chair, perhaps offer you a cup of tea, but probably not, as that fell to John usually. You'd realise he was done speaking, at least to the question you had posed, so you'd nod and smile, then rise from the chair, and exit the flat, perhaps running into John as he was making his way up the stairs, with shopping bags in each hand. He'd nod to you, perhaps pause, if he didn't have milk or ice cream in the bags, and you might ask him what it was about Sherlock that made him stay.

"Because I love him." John would shrug and a little smile would brighten his eyes. "And maybe because of the full moon on the night of our first case? But I think, mostly, it's because life is never boring with him, and, well, he's unique, and loves me just a bit in return, much as he can love anyone, he loves me, and that's enough."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Moonstruck](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19844884) by [notjustmom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom)




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